15.7.08

Gates of the Mountains on the Missouri River open and close and open and close as a boat moves upstream and side to side on the river. At first, it just looks like the river ends in a rock wall. Then one gate opens and the view upriver opens further. Then that gate obscures the opening, but just about right away, the other side opens and the upstream portion is visible once more. But the canyon never opens completely until the end and only then can the river's course be seen as coming through this narrow portal.

This place is beautiful, but full of motorboats and fishermen and tourboats, which, of course, is how I saw the place. Sigh. My little boat would have been quieter (assuming no other traffic).

2 comments:

This is a place on my must-see list as it is near the site of the Mann Gulch Fire that took the lives of 13 wildfire fighters in August of 1949; one of the most legendary events in US wildfire fighting history. Did they mention the fire on your tour?